Census non-compliance (UK)
It would have been quite exciting to have been writing a blog from an internet cafe somewhere, or hijacking a wireless connection outside an office building, but it seems I am safe and snug in my home completely bereft of law enforcement officers hammering at my door demanding I complete the 2011 Census. Following on from my public announcement that I would be breaking the “law” (actually breaching the terms of the Census Act, as they aren’t allowed to call it a law) there was a mixture of wholehearted support, denial that the census was anything but an important social tool, and personal appeals to just fill the damn thing in.
As expected I received a few visits from the census taker, a very nice lady in her 50s, I would say, who continued to follow the official line regardless of what I said, although towards the end I did sense that she felt she would rather be somewhere else than at my door listening to various problems I had with the execution of the census. What emerged prior to census day really sealed my position though. It turned out that, during an experimental testing of the census materials, I couldn’t get the envelope to stick down. After all the claims of security on the Scotland’s Census website with regards to CACI (UK) Ltd, they couldn’t even use proper envelope glue, effectively making the act of posting the census form a security failure in itself. It wasn’t just me – of the four people I asked in Scotland, two of them had already noticed this, one had stuck their envelope successfully, and one hadn’t checked. As the two people weren’t even that local to me then I have to assume the problem was more widespread than just my local office.
This I passed onto the Census Office, my local MSP, my MP and a couple of newspapers. The resulting publicity over this complete balls-up was…zero. It seemed that the census was sacrosanct and nothing would be allowed to cast a pall over its exulted status – especially given the amount of money and airtime being utilised telling people that the MUST FILL IN THE FORM. A £1000 fine loomed, so we were all told.
After the second note of non-compliance had been put through my letter box, I bumped into the census taker outside my gate. The conversation went something like this:
“Have you filled in your census form yet?”
“No.”
“You do know that you have to fill it in or you will get a fine.”
“Yes.”
And I walked off to buy a local paper.
Well worth a read if you get chance:
http://thesietch.org/mysietch/keith/2011/06/07/im-on-the-run/
Hi, having refused to complete the census, I have now recieved a court cummons for non compliance :(
I have read through all the 'prosecution' evidence, and it makes for depressing bureaucratic reading, Not only did they appear at my door whilst I was out and try to get my 17year old daughter to reveal personal information about me, they have a written desciption of me, which bears no resemblance to me whatsoever!
What can I do????? I have no criminal record and have no desire to get one now! I have tried to call the census office, only to be fobbedd off with a non compliance phone number, which is conveniently unavailable, I have asked the census lady who eventuallypicked the phone up for normal cense squeries to pass my details to the non compliance team but I fear I will have to have my day in court, and take a very hefty fine and criminal record.
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!!!
Sam
This is exactly why, no matter how much I love London, no matter how homesick I get, that I will not ever be returning to the UK, unless this system of surveillence is dismantled and people accorded their rightful freedoms once more. I do not expect to ever "go home".
It is not just the census, it is the all pervading incursions into the way people eat, live, educate their children, and the ever increasing culture of judgment and censure by the powers that be.
Obviously your first port of call should be to consult a solicitor.